Backseat Baby
Location: Lake Charles, Louisiana Date: May 3, 1990 Story In the early morning of May 3, 1990, in the suburbs of Lake Charles, Louisiana, most of the members of the Bellon family were sound asleep. But Angela Bellon, just two weeks away from the birth of her second child, had some news that she just couldn't keep to herself. She woke up her husband, Ronnie, and told him that it was time for her to have the baby. Before heading to the hospital, Angela and Ronnie planned to drop off their six-year-old daughter at the babysitter's house. "When we got to the babysitter's, Angie was in extreme pain so we put her in the back seat to make her as comfortable as possible. We made half a block and Angie just started hollering that she was hurting, cramping, and in severe pain. She said, 'Ronnie, I'm not gonna make it! I'm hurting too much!'" said Ronnie. The nearest hospital was more than 15 miles away, so Ronnie drove home to call the doctor. His 12-year-old son, Brandon, stayed by Angela's side. He told her everything would be all right. She suddenly told him, "I feel the head! Go get your dad!" "When she said that, I really freaked, because I didn't know what was going to happen," said Brandon. While Ronnie was on the phone, Brandon told him that the baby's head was out and the doctor told him to call an ambulance. He started flipping through the phone book to find a number for the ambulance. Brandon said, "Dad, just call 911." So he did. At 1:45am, the call came in to dispatcher Julie Elliott. "My wife's having a baby and it's halfway out. I need an ambulance," said Ronnie. He gave Elliott his address. "When the call first came in, I really felt like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to help this man deliver his baby,'" said Elliott. Elliott's assistant dispatcher alerted the local volunteer rescue squad about Angela's condition. It headed toward the scene along with an ambulance from four miles away. Elliott asked Ronnie if Angela was lying down and he said she was in the backseat of their car and the baby was halfway out. Elliott had never used the childbirth cards before. Ronnie told her that Angela was lying down and she told him to get some towels and put them under her rear end. So he did. He could see the baby's head. He wanted to find a closet and hide in it. "I can't handle this. I'm squeamish, weak stomach. I pass out at, I can't do this," said Ronnie. Elliott continued to give him instructions on what to do and to remain calm until the ambulance arrived. "He was on a portable phone and I knew I needed both of his hands free to be able to work and help get the baby out," said Elliott. She felt like jumping through the phone and doing it for him. The baby's head came out completely, but Ronnie's living nightmare was still not over. Elliott told him to calm down. Angela was screaming like crazy. Ronnie explained that the baby was coming out. "Being the mother of two children, it was ordeal to go through. Here is this poor lady screaming and I felt so sorry for her because I knew there was nothing I could give her to help get the pain away. She was going to have to go through natural childbirth whether or not she was prepared for it," Elliott explained. Elliott asked Ronnie if the baby's head was out. "The conversation between me and her was really kind of crazy because the phone kept on slipping and falling down off my shoulder and was slimy. So she asked questions several times and I had to repeat it," explained Ronnie. She told him to turn the head to the side and clean the mouth and nose out or it would suffocate. He said, "Oh my God, no I can't do this. I can't do this!" He was nervous and excited at the same time so Elliott had to control him. If he did something wrong, it could mean life or death. Elliott kept telling Ronnie with encouragement, "You can do this. Yes you can. You've got to handle it and take control of this. It's just you, the man upstairs and us." She told him the baby would be slippery when it came out and not to drop it. He said it was coming out. "I was holding Angie's hand and I was really nervous but I was trying to comfort her and make sure she was okay. I really loved her a lot and I didn't want nothing to happen to her," Ronnie said. As the baby was coming out, Elliott told Ronnie to wrap it in a towel and asked if it was breathing. He couldn't tell if it was. "At that point I nearly died thinking the baby's not breathing. I didn't know how much further the ambulance had to get there. I knew that we could tell him what to do but I wasn't sure whether he could actually do it," explained Elliott. The baby was out completely. It was a girl. Ronnie was told to clean her mouth out and tap the bottom of her foot to make her breathe. He did and she began crying. "Words couldn't put it into effect how I felt when the baby started crying. I just thought, 'Oh, we brought a life into the world,'" said Elliott. The baby was still crying and Brandon said he felt like crying herself. Elliott told Ronnie to put the baby on Angela's stomach so she could hold her and he did. "After she was born, I was so relieved. Ronnie had taken care of her and me. She was breathing, she was alive, she sounded very healthy, and I was very, very excited!" said Angela. She happily held her new baby daughter. Ronnie felt like weight was lifted off of him, peace of mind, and excitement thrills all at the same time. The ambulance finally arrived and took Angela and baby Brittany to the hospital. Ronnie felt nauseous due to having blood all over him. Brandon accompanied Angela and Brittany in the ambulance while Ronnie followed in the car, which was still bloody inside. Police officers pulled him over because he was speeding on account he wanted to get to the hospital. They asked for his identification but he told them he didn't have it. He explained to the officers about how he delivered Brittany and why he had blood all over him. The officers heard the story over the radio. One shook his hand congratulating him. "Thank you very much," he said. A year has passed since Brittany's birth and one day when her parents tell her the story, she will have the proof of it. "When the birth certificate came from the hospital, it had Ronnie's name on it," said Angela. He came to her and Brittany's rescue. Category:1990 Category:Louisiana Category:Childbirth